Get Ready to Fall for Kristy Woodson Harvey’s “Feels Like Falling”

Sometimes you pick up a book and it instantly becomes a forever favorite. Everything about it, from the characters, to the setting, to the emotional punch on every page, invokes that magical feeling that captures everything you love about reading. Without fail, Kristy Woodson Harvey’s novels always have that quality for me, and her latest, Feels Like Falling, may be her warmest and most special tale yet.

Feels Like Falling introduces us to two unforgettable women, each at a crossroads, whose lives unexpectedly intertwine. For Gray Howard, summers at Cape Carolina have always been a warm respite from her busy, carefully planned life. Of course, this summer will be different, as she copes with the loss of her mother, the loss of her marriage, and the fact that her soon-to-be ex-husband—who swiftly moved on with his twenty-something executive assistant—is trying to claim half of the affiliate marketing company Gray built from the ground up. The last thing she needs is to inadvertently get a stranger fired, but that’s exactly what happens when she encounters Diana Harrington. For Diana, being down on her luck is nothing new. After her good-for-nothing boyfriend gambles away what little savings she has, she finds herself without a place to live, and—thanks to a mishap with Gray—without her job at the drug store photo lab. Fortunately, Gray has a guilty conscience, an empty guest house, and a desperate need for help around the house. With their unlikely friendship serving as the novel’s backbone, Feels Like Falling highlights what can happen when we let people in—be it new loves, old flames, or strangers behind the counter at the drug store.

Kristy Woodson Harvey is a master at bringing compelling characters to life, allowing us to feel every heartache, every struggle, and every joy as if they are our own. Feels Like Falling blends humor and sadness, hope and unexpected surprises, and golden nuggets of truth you want to hold onto forever. As alternating narrators, Gray and Diana could not be more different, highlighting the fact that no matter what walks of life we come from or how it appears on the outside, as Diana puts it, “everybody’s got their own problems.” The relationships—whether romantic relationships, family relationships, or relationships among friends—are so richly complex and true to life. From the very first page, I was transported to the North Carolina coast. Feeling the sand between my toes and smelling the salt water in the air, I fully expected to find a red basket of fresh seafood in front of me when I set the book aside. Not only is this a perfect summer read, it’s a perfect read—period.

If you’re looking for a gorgeous book full of warmth, hope, and wisdom, look no further than Feels Like Falling. If you loved Kristy Woodson Harvey’s other novels, this book will secure a place in your heart next to Dear Carolina, Lies and Other Acts of Love, and the Peachtree Bluff series. If she’s a new author for you, get ready to fall in love—and clear some time to devour her whole backlist. As with all of her novels, Feels Like Falling is a glorious escape and a warm hug wrapped up as one—exactly the kind of book we could all use right now.